NovelEnglish
Chapter 119
After returning from the fireworks event, Eileen felt that Egbert didn’t seem as angry anymore. She
decided to seize the opportunity. She asked him, “Do you feel like nurturing some feelings tonight?
How about watching a romantic movie together?”
Egbert unlocked the door with his keys, walked in, and quietly replied, “No need, better get some rest.”
He closed the door behind him..
The next day when Eileen arrived at the set, Galen called her over. Galen, smoking a cigarette, said,
“The actress playing Hertha is coming this afternoon due to scheduling issues. We need to shoot her
scenes first, so we’ve adjusted the shooting schedule. Everyone will be focusing on Hertha’s scenes for
now.”
Eileen blinked. “So, does this mean Joyce’s scenes will be postponed?”
Galen nodded. “Exactly. It’ll give you and Egbert more time to adjust.”
Eileen turned to look in the direction of Egbert, who was reading the script.
“Does Mr. Reed know about this?” Eileen asked.
Galen replied, “Yes, he’s aware.”
Eileen nodded. “Alright.”
The new character, Hertha, was played by a secondary actress named Salome. Originally, for the role
of Hertha, they could have cast a top-tier actress. But because Joyce’s role had been elevated, Galen
contacted several actresses who had auditioned previously. However, when they found out they would
be paired with a newcomer, they all declined. In the end, Galen had to pull some strings to bring
Salome on board.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSalome, however, only had a two-month window and was set to join another production soon. So,
Galen decided to shoot her scenes first.
In the following days, Eileen had very few scenes, almost none at all. Yet, she still went to the set every
day because Galen wanted her to stay in touch with Egbert to continue building their relationship.
However, Eileen found it nearly impossible to spend any time alone with Egbert. Salome was
constantly by his side. Unlike Joyce, whose scenes were mostly indoors, Hertha’s scenes were mostly
outdoors. Setting up the scenes, arranging the props, and renting locations – were both physical and
time-consuming. After almost every scene, they had to move to a different place.
During the downtime, Egbert and Salome were mostly engrossed in the script. Eileen sometimes
attempted to strike up a conversation with Egbert, only to be interrupted by Salome. In the end, Eileen
had to sit quietly on the sidelines.
Most of the time, Eileen either read the script, avoided Flossie, or helped distribute meals to the crew.
Two weeks later, they finished early for the day. Salome cheerfully suggested, “We’ve been together for
so long, and I haven’t treated everyone to a meal yet. How about dinner together tonight?”
Eileen was helping the props team move things when she heard this and immediately looked over.
Salome spotted her and waved to her enthusiastically, “Eileen, join us!”
“Sure.” Eileen smiled.
They dined at a three-star hotel, which was considered upscale in this small town. The hotel’s third
floor had a karaoke lounge, so they could sing after dinner.
During the meal, Eileen, Egbert, and Salome sat together. Salome poured drinks for everyone herself.
When she poured a drink into Egbert’s glass, she raised her own glass and said, “Mr. Reed, I must
toast to you personally. You’ve been a great help.”
Egbert didn’t take the drink. Instead, he reached for a glass of juice and said, “No need to be so
formal.”
Salome insisted, “No, we should all have a drink.”
Then, she turned to the others and said, “We should all have a drink, right? At least one.”
Everyone started cheering and requesting drinks.
Egbert still held his glass of juice and casually said, “I don’t drink.”
“Mr. Reed, come on, that’s no fun at all.” Salome pouted.
Eileen stood up, took the drink in front of Egbert, and downed it in one go, saying casually, “I’ll help him
out. Is that okay?”
Salome was taken aback. The private room fell into a brief silence.
Eileen put down the glass and looked at Egbert, winking at him. He put down his juice, still not saying
anything.
After a moment, when Eileen had eaten her fill and noticed that Egbert wasn’t eating anymore, she
leaned in close to him and whispered, “Shall we leave?”
Egbert replied, “That would be impolite.”
“It’s okay; they’re going to sing, and you don’t drink,” she said, tugging at Egbert’s sleeve, urging him to
leave.
Egbert stayed silent for a moment but eventually stood up and left with her.
Eileen sent a message to Janice, telling her to let the others know that they were leaving early. Then
she took Egbert outside the hotel.
Once outside, Eileen said to Egbert, “Look at me, being a good friend, drinking on your behalf. I
remember you’re allergic to alcohol.”
Egbert glanced at her but remained silent. Noticing that Egbert hadn’t been talking to her lately, Eileen
felt a bit disheartened and asked, “Egbert, what’s been going on with you? Have I done something
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwrong again?”
Egbert was about to speak when he suddenly noticed that Eileen was looking across the street with an
unusual expression. So, Egbert looked over and saw three cars parked on the other side of the street,
one of them looking suspicious.
“Paparazzi.” Egbert said, frowning at Eileen. “Let’s get in the car.”
But Eileen simply lifted her leg and started walking toward the opposite side.
Egbert immediately grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”
Eileen smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to fight them. Do I look like a violent person to you?”
With that, she pushed past Egbert and crossed the street.
Egbert, still concerned, followed her.
Eileen stood by the peculiar car, whistled, and then leaned down to knock on the window. The window
was tinted, so they could see outside, but the people inside couldn’t see them.
The occupants of the car didn’t respond. So, Eileen tapped her fingers and said, “I’ll count to three.
One, two…”
Finally, the window rolled down. Inside were two trembling journalists, their cameras hidden behind
their backs. “Eileen, we were just taking some casual shots. We didn’t mean any harm.”
Eileen chuckled and rested one hand on the car roof and the other on her waist. “I haven’t done
anything, have I?”
The two journalists remained silent, too scared to speak.
Suddenly, Eileen swung open the back door of the car and climbed in. The two journalists screamed,
“Ah! Please don’t hurt us!”
Eileen sarcastically threatened. “Drive us back! NOW!”
As soon as she said this, she waved enthusiastically to Egbert outside. “Come on up, it’s a free ride, no
charge! Hurry!”
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